The Circle of Friends

by Honey_Habanero

Chapter 1

Dusky Rose stepped through the portal to the balcony where her mistress stood in meditative silence, gazing at the stars. The moon was well up now, and below them she could see Equestria bathed in silver silence. She curtsied. "A fine night, my lady."

Princess Twilight tilted her head at the night sky, eyeing it critically. "Not bad," she conceded. "A bit quiet, though. Winter nights I can understand, but somehow I always feel summer nights should be, well, livelier." She turned to her young pupil, and smiled a little. "Still, it is a nice night."

The young pony moved to the edge of the balcony, and gazed out over the landscape. "I love summer nights," she smiled. "When I was young, my friends and I would run around, chasing the fireflies and playing games til it was too dark to see. It was always nice and warm, and our parents would sit outside and visit each other..." She sighed, drifting back into a velvet cloud of memory.

The princess nodded. "Ah, yes. I remember how it was for me, too. Of course, I didn't play much as a child, being involved in my studies and so on. But back in Ponyville..." She craned her neck, gazing out at the landscape before her; if she squinted, she could just make herself believe she could see the familiar shapes of her former home. "I remember the outdoor cafes, summer dances, the evenings we shared..."

For a while, there was silence. Then the younger of the two moved a little closer. "You still think of them a lot, don't you, Princess?"

Twilight nodded. "Oh, always. They were the first real friends I'd had, you know. Before then I'd always been the lonely scholar, slaving away at my books. It was Celestia that sent me to them, you know. She felt I needed to learn a few things about friendship." She chuckled a bit. "And indeed I did, though being Celestia she had another motive in mind as well." She smiled down at her ward. "But it was for the best, and I must say it was the most wonderful time in my life."

They watched the stars together in silence. Then: "My Lady?"

"Yes, Dusky?"

"If you miss them so much, why did you not grant them immortality? It seems to me that if I had the gift, I would certainly--"

"Ah, but I did, young pupil. Oh, yes. Every one of them. And they each lived as long as their heart desired and no less. Those were... good days, too."

The young pony tilted her head in surprise. "You mean... you gave them immortality, but they died willingly anyway? But why, mistress? If I had immortality I'd never give it up, not for anything!"

The princess laughed softly. "Easy to say that now. But you are young, and life stretches out before you. When you have been alive for as long as I, time tends to hang heavy. Too many faces disappear. Too much familiar giving way to unfamiliar. The world moves on, and you are still there. There's not many that can take more than a few hundred years, really."

Twilight shifted her stance, looking back up into the sky. "I remember Pinky was the first to go. One day she just announced she wanted to 'see what it was like', and off she went." She chuckled to herself. "But I suppose that was Pinky all over."

"Then there was Rainbow and Apple Jack. Oh, those two..." She closed her eyes, smiling at the memory. "'One last adventure,' they called it. I can still seem them now laying together under the canopy, gazes fixed on each other, the words they saved for their very last breath..."

She sighed. "It was very beautiful, really. The bond between them." She looked down. Her voice, when it came again, was a whisper. "Sometimes, I quite envy them."

"Really, Ladyship?" The younger pony blinked. "You make it sound as if they were..."

"Well, of course they were, my girl. Who do you think presided at their wedding?"

"But... well, all the stories you've told about them! It always sounded like they were bitter rivals!"

The elder pony laughed. "Oh, yes! Always." She shook her head. "Those two, always showing off around each other. It's amazing they didn't see it themselves sooner." She winked at her younger charge. "Heaven knows, the rest of us did."

Dusky nodded. "I see, Ladyship. And the others?"

"Oh, they all went, each in their own time. They could not have forever, but I gave them all the time in this world they could desire. I admit I miss them, and it is hard to be in a world without them, but I wouldn't trade the times we had for anything."

The younger pony thought about this for a while. "Still," she said, "It does seem awfully sad. I mean, being so close for so long and then losing them all..."

Twilight nodded. "It is. Indeed it is. But:" She smiled, and turned to the girl, giving her a nuzzle. "In those days I learned the importance of forming bonds between ponies. And while it is true that a princess does not get much in the way of friends, I may say that I have never in my time here been alone."

Dusky sighed, her ears drooping a bit. "I wish I understood better, Ladyship."

The princess smiled. "You will." She brushed a reassuring hoof over the girl's mane. "Soon, my most faithful student, the time will come when I send you out into the world to learn its ways. In that time, I believe, you will discover many great and wonderful truths about friendship. But allow me to give you the first lesson now.”

"It is this: that all things pass in the course of time, that forever does not exist. That every Hello contains within itself the echoes of its own Goodbye. That for every person you come to know in your journey through life, no matter how long you know them, there will always come a day when you will see them for the last time. And yet..."

"And yet... it is all worth it." The princess looked back up at the stars, the light from the moon reflecting in her eyes. "The time between Hello and Goodbye, if you fill it properly, will sustain you through all your days. Every shared moment, every laugh, every precious sliver of time spent with someone you care for is a treasure, to be kept safe forever."

She allowed herself a small smile. "Some day, and that day is a long time coming, I shall step down as did Luna before me, and hand my burden to a worthy successor. When that day comes, I will join my friends in wherever their journey has taken them, of this I am certain."

The younger pony shivered. "Please, Ladyship," she whispered. "I do not like to hear you speak of such things."

"And why not?" She patted the girl reassuringly. "Such is the way of the world. We are born, we die. What could be more natural? And in the time between, we do what we can." She smiled gently. "Now, then: was there something you were needing?"

"Oh! Yes!" The girl fumbled in her saddlebag for a moment, then retrieved a slip of paper. "Lady Cloudwhirl said to tell you that they're supposed to have a storm over Paddock Ridge tomorrow, but they're right in the middle of mowing season. She says if the pegasi go ahead, we'll be up to our fetlocks in wet hay."

"Really? Dear me. Go see Spike, will you? Have him sort it out. Run along, now."

Princess Twilight watched her young charge gallop back into the palace on her errand, then turned back to the sky. The starts were particularly bright, she noted. Perhaps...

She let her attention focus on The Great Mare, followed the line from its tail down past Aeon's Wing. There, just above the horizon, a small group of stars, easily missed by anyone who wasn't looking for them. Five stars forming a rough circle, and right at the top a space, just room for one more. She allowed herself a smile. Orbis Amicitia. The Circle of Friends.

"Oh, yes," she whispered. "We do what we can."

The princess turned, and walked back into the palace. The Mare on the Moon continued her journey across the ebon sky. And in an unregarded corner of the sky, five friends danced and twinkled through eternity.

Comments

[QuillDipper]

Very good. Always makes me a hair sad to read a pony died.

Also: Twilight's Monologue. I swear I've read it before. Where else is your fic posted?

[Honey_Habanero]

53
Originally over on ED, but it was a good while back.

[QuillDipper]

Actually, I found it. The monologue itself was showcased by the bronyville podcast on their site.
Funnily enough, I commted a while back saying it was amazing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5Ih_Bvnjpc&feature=related

^Listen to that song while reading this story. It made me cry so much :(

^I did that challenge more than a month ago... I still cannot listen that without catching a sad

Ps: This site needs a sad tag

[soulwinds]

this is truly such as sweet story i found myself crying near the end.Out of curiousity, where did the name Orbis Amicitia come from? is it an actually star constellation, or is it a direct translation

First fic I've to make me tear up.

[Over The Top Brony Guy]

Man, not too much to this story yet, and it's still pretty deep.

Kinda makes me want to go out and do something more with my life....

[X.porter]

Got here from a comment quoting this on SUPERMARIOGALAXY13's goodbye to passed Edd Gould video.
I looked it up and then found this video narration:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rt8kA1w39BQ&feature=BFa&list=HL1333573217&lf=mh_lolz
Such a short story, yet so very heart-touching. I truly cherished reading it.
Thank you.

[Alexstrazsa]

All I have to say is that this is beautiful and heart touching, and it never fails to make my eyes water - especially with the right music.

[PonIver]

Absolutely gorgeous. Had me in "My Little Dashie" tears real quick. Even without the MLP element, a beautiful story. Brings me memories of friends long lost. I also think that while it seems short at first read, it actually says just enough. As I ponder about it, I'm glad Fluttershy and Rarity are left out of the conversation, since it might pull attention away from the focus of the story.

Love it love it love it!!!!

[Lmaozorzz]

Beautiful. This NEEDS a feature!

[EverHeat]

A very good story, even though it was very short. I give you my claps.

[Sagitta]

I still remember reading this a long time ago on Equestria Daily. The emotion your story released within my soul was incredibly strong and alien: it was the joy of understanding. Your story came in the right moment for I was going through a rough patch in my life. After I read it the first time I printed a copy and left it locked in a place I plan on opening once I am older so that I can remember all the good things that happened to me during my life. Thank you for writing this. I am truly, truly grateful.

[BlackJasper]

One of the most heart-wrenching yet beautiful short stories I've read. Amazing job.

[Wolfer255]

Short but oh so sweet.

[AntiquatedAnnomaly]

I found this forever ago, and I loved it. Now I can finally fav it

[q97randomguy]

2176179
Thanks for referring me to this!
Now I feel a deep melancholy.

[Col_StaR]

I remember reading this on EqD a long time ago, just when I was getting into Bronydom. It was one of my first ventures into fanfiction in general. Despite my previous disposition against fanfiction, the story was getting rave reviews, so I threw my bias to the wind and jumped right into it.

When I finished it, I was a changed man.

For the record, here's the EqD Link.

[MellowMabari]

I remember reading this a looong time ago on EQD when I was first getting into ponies. At the Appledash bit I was like what, pony shipping? No thanks. Now I ship them avidly. Thanks for posting it here, too - it was nostalgic. Oh and a few errors I noticed off hand were "Pinky" instead of "Pinkie" and "Apple Jack" instead of "Applejack."

I can still seem them now

Probably supposed to be see. Sorry for nitpicking, just thought I'd point it out. Anywho, thanks again for a lovely read

[Thunderhalk89]

Short, but oh so beautiful

[AmethystFire]

Such an amazing fimficjavascript:smilie('');javascript:smilie('');javascript:smilie('');

[TEK101]

This is still as amazingly beautiful as the first time I read this.

[Dconstructed Reconstruct]

My god, this story here. It's been almost 3 years since I last read it. I still recall how it predicted so many aspects, including Twilight becoming a princess. I have to spread this around somehow, because this story needs to be remembered.

Also, it needs to be paired up with Reasoner's song again. That song really made it freaking amazing.

[Selbi]

I feel bad I've only know stumbled upon this fic. Extremely touching and bittersweet, but in a good way!

[OtakuMegane]

This was the first FiM fanfic I remember reading way way back on EqD. Short, simple and yet profound. Still a favorite of mine even after so long.

[Night_Coder]

Returning to this after so long, it brings a year to my eye. Also noticing that it is marked incomplete and I now think that is fitting, if not intentional. Even if the story here is done, it does not mean the story of life ends. It will never truely end.

[FuzzyVeeVee]

I recall reading this soooo long ago, and I kept the music ever since to listen to for many many writing periods of my own, and for that I'm forever thankful for this little tale that was one of the first fanfics I read, if not THE first one back when.